Local law makers respond to healthcare repeal vote

This is staggering ignorance for a president, not to mention one who is leading the battle against the Affordable Care Act. So many lives are on the line, and the president of the United States thinks that health insurance works like life insurance. Depending on the county, a 60-year-old who makes $20,000 would end up paying anywhere from $9,740 to $12,380 per year for insurance coverage - that's after the tax credit proposed by Republicans. It's like saying, "I'm stealing your auto, but here, you can keep the spare tire".

"We are all one accident, one test result, one diagnosis away from this impacting any of us personally", said Jenny Hobbs, the mother of three children who each have a rare muscle wasting disease that requires intensive medical management. Lack of health insurance is a major barrier to seeking out care and receiving necessary treatments.

How could Trump possibly understand Obamacare and the viability of its health insurance exchanges?

The Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) would eliminate central features of the current law, which a Democratic Congress pushed through in 2010. In other words, the people who don't have something to gain by lying about the health of Obamacare say that the program is actually working. He is talking about murder. Many representatives and senators are afraid to vote for these unpopular bills because voters might not reelect them. He repeated the false assertion that the Affordable Care Act is near collapse, and he told Republicans they had an obligation to fulfill years of promises to kill President Barack Obama's signature accomplishment.

Why it matters: The ACA has not hurt the health care industry. Numerous governors targeted have said no to the administration's offer, predicting that such low-income residents still could not afford the private coverage. He seemed to indicated that he and his party would allow our current health care system to completely fail, which is something they apparently seem to now want if they can't agree on a replacement of their own.

The Senate also voted 57-43 Tuesday evening on the bill's initial amendment blocking a wide-ranging proposal to erase and replace much of the statute. The GOP is focusing on tax cuts for the rich, while the Democrats are focusing on taxes to pay for a single-payer system, which raises taxes on the rich.

Palm Beach Post business reporter Charles Elmore has followed the debate over health care reform for several years.

We need to look at other nations, such as Switzerland, Singapore and France, which, according to one source are not just socialistic nor free market-based, but are more hybrid with mix government-mandated universal coverage and subsidies with consumer choice of doctors and hospitals. That Trump fundamentally misunderstands how health insurance is funded and how it works is stunning. And millions more will retain insurance but with greater financial burden due to substantially reduced premium support in the Republican bills.